The greatest achievements come from taking the biggest leaps of faith.
From a 'ridiculously bad' radio interview with Russell Crowe that ended up winning the ABC's ‘Comedy Segment of the Year Award’, to presenting on The Project, and recently being cast in Bluey as Janelle aka “Lucky's Mum”, Anna Daniels is a journalist, TV presenter, and writer, and a master at turning things around and sharing inspiring stories.
Growing up as one of five children in Rockhampton, the Beef Capital of Australia, Anna’s points of difference are her country background, her humour, her relatability and vibrancy, and her ability to hang in there with positivity and hope when times get tough!
With her laidback warmth, energy, and inspirational messages of resilience; taking leaps of faith; creating your own opportunities and transforming negatives into positives, Anna connects with audiences to realise their full potential.
Anna is currently playing the role of “Janelle” Lucky’s Mum on the much-loved kid’s series Bluey. Janelle is the NSW State of Origin Blues-loving Labrador retriever and made her debut in the ‘Pass the Parcel’ episode before she belted out those hilarious lines in ‘The Decider’ episode as the footy-mad lone NSW supporter! Anna says “It’s such a joyous celebratory show of Australian culture, and obviously incredibly popular”.
Anna’s refreshing sense of humour has been entertaining us for several years as a presenter on The Project. From sailing aboard the Queen Mary 2; joining an outback postie on one of Australia’s longest mail-runs, to reporting from Beef Week in Rockhampton, and presenting live from The Project desk in Melbourne, Anna’s highly entertaining segments have been a hit with both urban and rural audiences.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from QUT in Brisbane, Anna has written, presented and produced exciting content for some of Australia’s and the UK’s highest-rating programs. In addition to presenting her own stories for The Project, she produced Red Symons’ Breakfast Program on ABC Radio Melbourne, presented for the popular Channel 7 travel show Queensland Weekender, and produced the BBC One series John Bishop’s Australia, featuring the UK comedian, John Bishop.
In 2004, as a junior ABC rural reporter, Anna knew she could not air her nerve-racked and error-ridden 40 minute-interview with superstar Russell Crowe. Then, in a stroke of genius, she edited the interview and turned the calamity into comic relief.
“It turned out to be ridiculous and funny and won the ABC’s ‘Comedy Segment of the Year Award’,’’ Anna says. “It’s always been a good reminder to me of how you can take a potentially disastrous situation and turn it into a positive.’’
With a great passion for comedy, Anna kicked off her presenting career with the ABC, co-winning the network’s Comedy Segment of the Year Award for her radio interview with Russell Crowe. She then went on to co-create the ABC’s first online comedy series, ’Tough at the Top’, set in Darwin, with Melbourne comedian Anne Edmonds. Winning national comedy awards, the Tough at the Top sketches continue to be a hit on YouTube.
In 2016, Anna’s debut novel, Girl in Between, was shortlisted for the Vogel Awards and was published by Allen & Unwin in 2017. Girl in Between has become one of Australia’s bestselling debuts, and has recently been reprinted in Australia, and released by Random House in Germany.
She is currently working on her own kid's TV show idea with production company, Northern Pictures, and has hopes to adapt ‘Girl In Between’ for TV.
Talking Points
How to connect with Humour and Heart
From growing up as one of five children in a 'big, crazy, loving family' in Rockhampton, the Beef Capital of Australia, Anna has entertained us on the national stage. A natural comedic storyteller, Anna wrote and presented her own funny stories for The Project on Network Ten, and travel show Queensland Weekender on Network Seven. She approaches life with positivity and hope, and has a great knack of being able to turn a negative into a positive. When playing back a 'disastrous' interview she'd conducted with superstar Russell Crowe, for example, Anna decided to make light of her mistakes and produced a piece on 'How Not to Interview Russell Crowe'...which went on to win the ABC's Comedy Segment of the Year Award, as is currently played as part of the Journalism degree at her former university, QUT. A big believer in backing yourself and stepping out of your comfort zone, Anna has taken leaps of faith which have seen her start out on The Project as a researcher and end up as a presenter, and now, writing her debut romantic comedy novel, 'Girl In Between' which will be published by Allen & Unwin in 2017. With heart and humour, Anna enjoys connecting with all audiences.
How to connect with Humour and Heart
Master of Ceremonies - Energising and Engaging
Friendly, funny, and upbeat, Anna uses her unique blend of humour and warmth to keep a conference crowd energised, motivated, and enthused for the speakers and sessions ahead! As an MC, Anna knows the importance of making every attendee and speaker feel supported, inspired, and excited to learn from industry leaders, and she creates an atmosphere of positivity, fun and expectation, whilst also synthesising the big ideas from speakers to ensure maximum impact for audiences.Master of Ceremonies - Energising and Engaging
With Anna as your MC, you can be assured of running a highly successful, empowering and (on-time) motivating event!
Reworking ideas from Rejection to Relaunch
In this keynote, Anna touches on the idea of creating your own opportunities by taking action when you don’t know what the outcome will be after you have been rejected. She explores having the courage to approach people with ideas and putting yourself out there with authenticity.Reworking ideas from Rejection to Relaunch
Key points:
- Being vulnerable can actually be a pathway to success
- Acting on your instincts, not overthinking things and taking leaps of faith can be the key to getting results
- Being resilient in the face of failure as a creative, and using stumbling blocks as stepping stones for success
- Using your unique 'selling points' to create your own brand and maximising your points of difference can unlock doors you didn't know existed
- How to connect with humour and heart
Video
Anna Daniels - WIN TV
Anna Daniels is one of Australia’s best storytellers. A natural public speaker and MC, Anna is as much at home on the stage in Sydney as she is in Stanthorpe! With a great affinity and love for regional and rural Australia, Anna frequently champions country events and characters, and has presented for The Project and currently plays the voice of Janelle "Lucky's Mum" on the much loved children's program Bluey.Anna Daniels| Paradise Lagoons Ladies Luncheon
Anna Daniels is one of Australia’s best storytellers. A natural public speaker and MC, Anna is as much at home on the stage in Sydney as she is in Stanthorpe! With a great affinity and love for regional and rural Australia, Anna frequently champions country events and characters, and has presented for Landline on ABC1, and ABC Radio Brisbane. She has lived and worked in London, Darwin, Melbourne, Cairns, and now Brisbane.The Great Debate - Beef Week
Together with her team-mates Lawrence Mooney and Dr Freddo Keating, Anna Daniels argues ''That Life on the Land is full of Romance and Desire!"' Recorded at Beef Week 2015, Wednesday 6th May, Rockhampton. Anna Daniels is one of Australia’s best storytellers. A natural public speaker and MC, Anna is as much at home on the stage in Sydney as she is in Stanthorpe! With a great affinity and love for regional and rural Australia, Anna frequently champions country events and characters, and has presented for Landline on ABC1, and ABC Radio Brisbane. She has lived and worked in London, Darwin, Melbourne, Cairns, and now Brisbane.The Great Debate - Beef Week 2018
Anna Daniels argues in the Beef Week Great Debate "That You Can't Beat the Good Old Days!" The Great Debate has become a hit on the Beef Week calendar, and 2018 was no exception! This year, it starred Sam Kekovich, Lehmo, Paul Murray, Dr Freddo Keating, Jodie van de Wetering, and Anna Daniels. Chaired by Geoff Maynard.Anna's Campaign to Get Rocky Rockin! - The Project - Written, Presented and Produced by Anna Daniels
With her laidback warmth, energy, and inspirational messages of resilience; taking leaps of faith; creating your own opportunities and transforming negatives into positives, Anna connects with audiences to realise their full potential. Anna is currently playing the role of “Janelle” Lucky’s Mum on the much-loved kid’s series Bluey. Janelle is the NSW State of Origin Blues-loving Labrador retriever and made her debut in the ‘Pass the Parcel’ episode before she belted out those hilarious lines in ‘The Decider’ episode as the footy-mad lone NSW supporter! Anna says “It’s such a joyous celebratory show of Australian culture, and obviously incredibly popular”. Anna’s refreshing sense of humour has been entertaining us for several years as a presenter on The Project. From sailing aboard the Queen Mary 2; joining an outback postie on one of Australia’s longest mail-runs, to reporting from Beef Week in Rockhampton, and presenting live from The Project desk in Melbourne, Anna’s highly entertaining segments have been a hit with both urban and rural audiences.Beef Week - The Project - Written, Presented and Produced by Anna Daniels
Anna Daniels is one of Australia’s best storytellers. A natural public speaker and MC, Anna is as much at home on the stage in Sydney as she is in Stanthorpe! With a great affinity and love for regional and rural Australia, Anna frequently champions country events and characters, and has presented for Landline on ABC1, and ABC Radio Brisbane. She has lived and worked in London, Darwin, Melbourne, Cairns, and now Brisbane.The Beef Week Great Debate
Together with her team-mates Tahir Bilgic and Simon Irwin, Anna Daniels argues against the topic 'That Males Are More Romantic!'We really enjoyed having Anna MC our two day conference in Tweed Heads and found her very accommodating, flexible, light hearted and enthusiastic. Anna’s prior research into our organisatio ... keep reading First National Real Estate
